To add to their list of live-action remakes of their hit classics, Disney unveiled the new version of The little Mermaid in an announcement at the D23 Expo, per NPR. Ariel, a young mermaid, falls in love with a human prince in the original 1989 animated film. She makes a pact with Ursula, a sea witch, to transform into a human to win his love.
We can anticipate a familiar The little Mermaid in this movie because previous Disney live-action remakes, such as Beauty and the Beast, The lionkingand Mulan, have somehow adhered to the original animated versions. In addition to Halle Bailey, who will play Princess Ariel, the film will also star Awkwafina as Scuttle, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Javier Bardem as Triton, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian. For the updated rendition, Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda signed on to compose the music.
There has been some controversy over Bailey’s casting. People think that casting a black actress goes against Hans Christian Andersen’s original 1837 fairy tale, or they are delighted with the portrayal. In the wake of the mixed opinions, Bailey said her grandparents offered her some perspective: “It was inspiring and beautiful to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, because our community, for all little black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,” she said in an interview with Variety. “I want the little girl in me and the little girls who look just like me to know that they are special and that they should be a princess in every way.”
Coming soon: Disney introduces new books
The Little Mermaid Live Action Novel tells the familiar story of Ariel, a young mermaid who is beautiful, brave and has a desire to explore. Ariel makes a pact with the evil sea witch Ursula after meeting Prince Eric, allowing her to experience life on dry land, but ends up endangering her life and her father’s throne.
In the brand new picture book The Little Mermaid: Make a splash, we follow Ariel as she longs to discover the outside world. She runs into Ursula the sea witch after rescuing a prince named Eric from a shipwreck, and invites her to meet him and see what’s beyond the water. However, Ariel soon discovers that it takes guts to prevent Ursula’s evil plans from happening in the human realm.
The Little Mermaid: Guide to Merfolk is a handbook that explores the world of mermaids from the upcoming film and is taken from “Prince Eric’s Royal Library.” The seven seas and the mermaid princess who rules them can be revealed to the readers. The myths about sirens, sea witches and coral moon are all explained in the book.
Ariel discovers her voice after making a pact with the evil sea witch Ursula in the 32-page young reader book The Little Mermaid: This is Ariel. This book is part of Disney’s World of Reading series, which gives beginning readers novels with captivating plots and appealing characters.
Two of the book’s covers are not finalized at the time of writing; The Little Mermaid: Against the Tide, which tells the story of how Ariel has to reconnect with her sisters after one of them is kidnapped after her mother’s death, and The Little Mermaid: Adventures on Land, which chronicles Ariel’s first day on land in picture book format as she meets Prince Eric and must figure out how to foil Ursula’s evil plans. All books are now available for pre-order on Amazon and will be available for release on April 11, 2023, ahead of the movie.
Additional Merchandise that Disney may release
We got our first look at the character designs for some of the cast members due to some leaked Funko POP boxes. Ariel in human form, Prince Eric, King Triton, and the evil Ursula are all shown in the POPs. It seems that these characters will mainly mirror their animated equivalents in the live-action version.
In the past, Disney has created toys, dolls, party favors, housewares, and more with images of its characters. A good example is the puppets explicitly designed for the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. This means it’s more than likely they’ll be making different merchandise for the new The little Mermaid movie. Let’s hope this prediction comes true, and we’re getting a lot of them The little Mermaid content to enjoy.
The Little Mermaid Disney’s live-action version will make its theatrical debut on May 26, 2023. Fans can watch the previously published teaser trailer below while they wait.